Every day they risk their lives for a few cents: scavenging piles of garbage for pieces of metals and e-waste. On Africa’s dumping sites the will to survive is stronger than the fear of illness or death.

By Kent Mensah, Accra and Priscilla Nadunga, Kampala

Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Ghana’s capital Accra, houses the biggest technology dump site of the West African country. Most of its residents are school drop-outs from northern Ghana who migrated to the city in search of a better life. They scavenge for obsolete computers and burn them for copper.

It is very easy to call the area a refuse dump. But this dump is also the home of Haruna Seidu and thousands of other youths who have invaded Accra for jobs. Seidu comes from northern Ghana. He dropped out of school as a result of poverty. When he first arrived in Accra three years ago and ended up in Agbogbloshie.

“We go round from house to house or to offices and ask if they have some old computers in their garages,” the 27-year-old says. “We negotiate for a fee and when it is agreed we take them to our site here in Agbogbloshie.”

Better than steeling
Seidu and his four friends begin their day scavenging – searching through piles of garbage for pieces of metals and e-waste. When they return with outdated computers they dismantle them and separate the components from the wires.

They usually burn the system units to retrieve copper, aluminium and brass to resell to ornamental companies. They seem unaware of the dangers in inhaling toxic fumes. The soil and water had been polluted with toxics such as mercury, lead and cadmium.

“This is better than staying in the heat up north without food and shelter. We’re happy with what we make and it’s far better than stealing. We have also heard it’s poisonous, but none of us have died yet,” Seidu stated when asked about the health implication.

He buys a dilapidated monitor or a system unit for one euro and 38 cents or sometimes two euros and 28 cents. On a good market week, he makes between 58 to 70 Euros when he sells the copper and other elements.

Wakulukuku - ten square miles of garbage
It’s usually filled with a contaminated odor oozing out of it. It’s here that Kamada Mukasa, who is ignorant of the dangers of his work, earns his living. Wakulukuku is the second largest dumping site of Kampala, Uganda's capital. It’s estimated to be ten square miles, with of countless mountains of garbage. It has become the ‘working place’ of over a hundred men and women, searching for scrape every day.

“I have made money out of this place, we have lots of factories and industries here, they keep throwing away lots of things at this dumping site, including used computers, TVs, and radio parts” says Mukasa.

“Rich people use these things for a few months and then throw them away. The TVs and computers they throw are still working, so what I do is go through the rubbish and pick out the good parts. Then I go and sell them to mechanics who repair computers and TVs, and make money”.

Survival despite all dangers
Another scrap dealer Geoffrey Wamanga says he does not need a working capital: “All I do is make sure I wake up in the morning and go to the dumping site near my home.”

Unlike his colleague Mukasa in Wakulukuku, Wamanga admits that he is aware of the dangers of dealing in used TV and computers.

“These people from National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) come here and teach us that picking scrape is bad for us. But what do you do, if you don’t have food at home? The only option we have is either die today of hunger or die tomorrow of an illness that results from our work”.